Jeff Kent

Every day, the sagging Dodgers are compared with their National League West competition. That's the nature of a division race such as this one. Second baseman Jeff Kent doesn't watch the scoreboard during games but is acutely aware of where San Diego, Arizona and San Francisco stand. It keeps hope alive. "I've been on a lot of teams that seemed dead in the water and did good things," he said. "We have young kids trying to develop while trying to walk a rough road.

As the Dodgers try to cobble together their best lineup for a pennant push in this injury-riddled season, Jeff Kent said he would accommodate a request to move to first base. The Dodgers have yet to make such a request, but Manager Jim Tracy has discussed the possibility with Kent, a five-time All-Star second baseman. "If that's what it takes, we'll deal with it every day," Kent said. "We've had a confusing lineup every day. Hopefully, soon, we can resolve that and become consistent.

Jeff Kent had made the last out of the game moments earlier with the tying runs on base, ending an 0-for-5 day. So perhaps he could be excused for his flip answer to a question he has been asked so many times that he has lost count. A radio reporter thrust his microphone near Kent's mouth Sunday, reminded him the Dodgers face the San Francisco Giants in a series beginning today, and said, "Do you appreciate the history of this rivalry and get pumped up?"

Jeff Kent can be expansive, as he was a few days ago in San Francisco when he talked at length about topics ranging from Major League Baseball's steroid testing, to the boos he gets from Giants fans, to his reading material. He can also be terse, as he was Wednesday when he refused to discuss the lower back stiffness that kept him out of the lineup. "No," was all he said when asked about the pain before disappearing into the training room for treatment before the game.

With two grand slams already this season, Jeff Kent could start making pitchers think twice about walking Barry Bonds to get to him. "With Barry Bonds the best hitter in baseball, it's a no-brainer that you're going to walk him when you have an open base," Kent said. That's what Dave Burba did Tuesday night, and Kent made him regret it.

Ned Colletti, Kim Ng and Grady Little met for more than an hour Monday at Dodger Stadium, discussing roster moves and trade possibilities, but the only concrete decision was to activate second baseman Jeff Kent from the disabled list in time for today's game against the San Diego Padres. Closer Eric Gagne is expected to be put on the disabled list, and the first move could be as simple as replacing Gagne with Kent, reducing the number of pitchers from 12 to 11.

Jeff Kent walked 17 times in April while batting .333. He has walked only six times in May while batting .196. It's something of a chicken-egg conundrum: Did the greater number of walks contribute to him hitting well, or did hitting well cause pitchers to walk him more often? And lately, are a reduced number of walks a result of his impatience or are pitchers challenging him because he isn't swinging the bat as well? Kent doesn't involve himself in those kinds of mental machinations.

A day after spraining his neck in a collision, Jeff Kent returned and homered against his former team again, leading the San Francisco Giants over the New York Mets, 3-2, on Monday night. Kent hit a two-run home run and a run-scoring double in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, then crashed head first into the third-base bag and missed the remainder of the game. On Monday, he hit a run-scoring single in the third inning and a two-run homer in the eighth off Greg McMichael (0-1).

Jeff Kent hit a two-run homer off Matt Morris with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night, giving the Houston Astros a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kent's second homer of the season ruined a splendid pitching performance by Morris (0-1), who retired 17 of 18 batters before Lance Berkman's two-out infield single in the ninth.

Houston Astro second baseman Jeff Kent was suspended for two games and fined Tuesday as a result of his argument with umpire Matt Hollowell during a game against the Chicago Cubs on July 26. Kent appealed the penalty and was in Houston's lineup for Tuesday night's game against the New York Mets. A date for a hearing has not been set. The suspension, imposed by Major League Baseball vice president Bob Watson, will not take effect until the appeal is heard.